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2nd CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

CSCW 2014 Workshop: Designing with Users for Domestic environments: Methods - Challenges - Lessons Learned
February 15, 2014 - Baltimore, MD, US

Submission deadline: November 15, 2013

http://designing-with-users.org
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When developing new ICT systems and applications for domestic environments rich qualitative approaches improve the understanding of the users integral usage of technology in their daily routines to inform the design. This knowledge will often be reached through investigations in the users’ homes, a strong relationship with the users and their involvement in the design and evaluation process. However, whilst this kind of research offers valuable context insights and brings out unexpected findings, it also presents methodological, technical and organisational challenges for the study design and its underlying cooperation processes. In particular, due to heterogeneous users in households in terms of technology affinity, individual needs, age distribution, social constellations, project expectations, it produces particular demands to collaborate with users in the design process and exposes a range of practical challenges.

WORKSHOP AIMS AND TOPICS:

The workshop wishes to identify a variety of practical challenges of applied methods, collaboration with users and lessons learned from user involvement for ICT design in different domestic contexts. Best practices should be discussed and a roadmap for sustainable relationships for design with users developed. For this purpose, the workshop wishes to gather research on ICT design for domestic contexts from a wide variety and from different perspectives in methodologies, study design and underlying research paradigms used:

- Home entertainment, also concerned with the design of value-added applications, services and devices
- ICT support for the aging society regarding social support, health, care, etc.
- Supporting family management, housework and child care
- Social media for social support, such as online communities with special support for domestic and cross-generational communication between disperse households
- Measuring energy consumption in households, also concerned with visualizing strategies on different devices and interests in raising awareness of users consumption
- Other technologies such as smart environments, intelligent interior design and games supporting social interactions
- Other domestic areas are welcome

Submissions are invited to the following topics, but not limited to:

- Ethnographic or observational studies on people at home
- Empirical and participatory design methods for the home and their benefits and straits for ICT design.
- Studies on appropriation in domestic environments
- Living Lab, co-creation and action research approaches for innovation related to the home
- How to find the right users? What defines suitable users?
- Collaboration, motivation, trust and empowerment of users
- Cooperation strategies and relationships between several stakeholders (user, researcher, designer, industrial players)
- Ethical issues (e.g. when researchers becoming part of users life)
- Longevity and sustainability in context of long-term studies, e.g. strategies for technical self management of users, strategies after projects and user interactions end
- Role of mediators between users, researcher, designer and other institutions
- Advantages and disadvantages of long- and short-term user involvement

SUBMISSIONS:

Position papers (3-5 pages SIGCHI Extended Abstract Format) and short information on the background of the authors should be submitted to the workshop organizers ([log in to unmask]), no later than November 15, 2013. The program committee and organisers will review submissions based on quality, relevance and diversity. Accepted position papers will be published on the workshop website in January 2014. Prior to the workshop, each participant will be asked to prepare a short talk based on the position paper, as a starting point on the morning of the workshop. If a position paper is accepted, at least one of the authors will be expected to attend the workshop. As a follow up to the workshop, a special issue in a selected journal is planned to provide a platform to publish the outcomes of this workshop in an extended form.

IMPORTANT DATES:

- Deadline for workshop submissions: November 15, 2013
- Notification of acceptance of workshop submissions: December 10, 2013
- Workshop at CSCW 2014: February 15, 2014